Plea deal limits prison time

A 46-year-old Adrian man admitted Wednesday to sexually abusing a girl over an eight-year period in a plea agreement that calls for a 15- to 25-year prison term.

Ernest Vargas Jr. was returned to jail to await sentencing after he pleaded guilty to first- and third-degree criminal sexual conduct in Lenawee County Circuit Court. Five other criminal sexual conduct charges are to be dismissed.

Original charges filed last fall include counts that carry maximum life prison terms and mandatory 25-year minimum prison terms.

Vargas admitted at least four incidents of sexual penetration as part of the plea agreement. He described them as oral sex and penetration with his finger. The girl was 12 years old at the time of the last incident in October.

The sexual abuse was reported last fall, triggering a police investigation. Vargas was reported to have confessed to the alleged offenses during the investigation. He has been in jail since his arrest in November.

A not-guilty plea was entered for Vargas when he waived arraignment in circuit court on Dec. 11. He had been scheduled for trial on June 26 before Judge Timothy P. Pickard.

A plea agreement was struck Wednesday after negotiations over limiting a prison sentence to a 25-year maximum. Pickard agreed to a 15- to 25-year sentence as part of the plea bargain.

Vargas is to be returned to court for sentencing on May 23.

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